Iran data show growing coercion of LGBT sex changes

Logo of 6Rang Iran’s coercive advocacy of sex-change surgery for LGBT people has become a growing problem in recent years, says the Iranian lesbian and transgender network 6Rang, which has launched a campaign against the practice.

These timelines demonstrate the magnitude of the problem:1973: Iranian press reports on the first case of sex reassignment surgery.1976: Iran Medical Association declares sex-reassignment operations ethically unacceptable, except in intersex cases.Ayatollah Khomeini (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)1985: Ayatollah Khomeini issues fatwa sanctioning sex-reassignment surgeries.2005: Dr. Mir-Jalali, a Tehran-based general surgeon, states in an interview with the Guardian that he has performed 320 sex-reassignment operations between 1993 and 2005, around 250 of which involved male-to-female transitions. He said that, in a European country, he would have carried out fewer than 40 such procedures over the same period. “The reason for the discrepancy … is Iran’s strict ban on homosexuality,” he says.2008: Iran reportedly performs more sex-reassignment surgeries than any other country except Thailand, leading some Western journalists to describe Iran as “a paradise for transsexuals.”2014: In an interview with the Ghanoon Daily, Dr. Mehrad Baghaie, general surgeon specialized in plastic and reconstructive microsurgery, states that he has performed “over one hundred” male-to-female surgeries.2014: Dr. Soudabeh Oskouyee, a general surgeon in the field of sex reassignment surgeries, states that since 2001, she has performed between 30 and 40 surgeries every month.Growing numbers of applications for sex-change permits(Latest available figures)

2006 — 170 applications.

2007 — 297 applications.

2008 — 294 applications.

2009 — 286 applications.

2010 — 319 applications

Source: Legal Medicine Organization of IranScene from “Be Like Others,” a 2008 documentary about sex-change operations in Iran. (Photo courtesy of nteractive.wxxi.org and www.al-monitor.com)Increasing proportion of requests for female-to-male sex-change permits2006 59.4% male-to-female applicants 40.6% female-to-male applicants2007 67.7 % male-to-female applicants 32.3% female-to-male applicants2008 59.5% male-to-female applicants 40.5% female-to-male applicants2009 46.5% male-to-female applicants 53.5% female-to-male applicants2010 49.5% male-to-female applicants 50.5% female-to-male applicants6Rang states that the frequency of female-to-male operations is much higher in Iran than in Western European and North American countries, where the number of male-to-female transsexuals is 5 to 8 times higher than that of female-to-male candidates. Legal, social and cultural constraints experienced by women such as compulsory wearing of the hijab create a strong incentive for lesbians and female-to-male transgenders to opt for a sex change.Official process for changing gender in Iran In order to change their legal gender, transgender people in Iran are required to:

Obtain a psychiatric diagnosis of “Gender Identity Disorder.”

Receive an official sex reassignment permit, provided by the Prosecutor on the recommendation of the Legal Medicine Organization of Iran (LMOI).